Well paid and perked, young up-and-comers from around the world who successfully navigate the competitive application process are assigned big time responsibility at firms, where executives hope they someday will come back to launch careers.

Here are five things to know about Silicon Valley internships.

BIG BUCKS: Tech firms pay interns more than any other sector in the U.S., according to a Top 25 list of 2014 intern pay by online career website Glassdoor. Palo Alto-based Palantir Technologies, a cybersecurity firm, topped the list with $7,012 average monthly base pay, followed by social media and software firms including Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, eBay, Google and Apple, which pay more than $5,000 a month, the equivalent of $60,000 a year for full time jobs.

PERKS: Benefits differ from company to company, but they include free meals, bikes to borrow, commuter buses, massages, swimming pools, dance and language classes, nap pods, parties and paid flights and hotels.

THE COMPANIES: Virtually every major tech firm including Apple, eBay, Cisco, Facebook, Google, Hewlett Packard, and Intel, as well as many startups, offer internships.

HOURS: Interns put in long hours; the requirement is 40 hours a week, but the reality is they are immersed in projects they want to produce, and often put in longer hours.

THE WORK: While most positions are for computer science, programming and developing, there are plenty of non-tech internships for designers, bankers, marketers, public relations workers, artists and more.